A newlywed diagnosed with incurable cancer has claimed that medical professionals dismissed her symptoms as merely “the menopause.” Jo Shaw Pyke, 48, from South Shields, began experiencing persistent itching around her genitals and excruciating pain described as feeling like “weeing razor blades” in 2022.
Over the subsequent 18 months, she reported being told her symptoms were related to menopause and was prescribed six different courses of antibiotics without a proper investigation into her condition.
It was not until December 2023, when a cancer counselor noticed a lump on her vulva—the outer tissue of the female genitalia—that Jo Shaw Pyke was referred to a gynecologist. Subsequent tests revealed that she had an 8 cm tumor—approximately the size of a tennis ball—and she was diagnosed with vulvar mucosal melanoma, which had also metastasized to her lymph nodes.
Vulvar cancer, which accounts for only one percent of all melanoma cases, currently has no cure. Despite undergoing surgery to remove the tumor, a biopsy conducted in June confirmed that Jo Shaw Pyke’s cancer had returned. She is now receiving immunotherapy while friends work to raise funds for an experimental treatment not readily available in the UK.
Reflecting on her experience, Mrs. Shaw Pyke stated, “I’ve not worked with many vulvar cancers. In 13 years, I’ve never encountered anyone with mucosal melanoma; I had never even heard the term before.”
She recounted her extensive experience with various cancers, saying, “I’ve seen thousands of clients and attended more funerals than I can count. Despite my familiarity with many forms of cancer, I had never heard of this one. It was a shocking realization of what I was facing.”
Having previously battled cervical cancer and undergone a hysterectomy in 2020, the only symptom indicating a problem in 2022 was the persistent itching. “I kept going back and forth to my GP, but during the height of COVID, everyone was advised to stay home and avoid doctors,” she explained.
“I submitted multiple e-consults to my doctors, but they consistently attributed my symptoms to menopause. I was prescribed six courses of antibiotics, only to be told by the GP’s secretary to stop taking them because I didn’t have a urinary infection.”
She emphasized the lack of follow-up care, noting, “The only response was my continued e-consults stating, ‘I’ve got this pain when urinating, I’m feeling run down and tired.’ I finally insisted they refer me to a gynecologist.”
On the eve of that appointment, she experienced a startling moment after a bath. “I got out, dried myself, and suddenly felt a bolt of electricity shoot through me. I don’t know what compelled me, but I grabbed a mirror and was shocked by what I saw. I rushed to my husband, legs wide open, exclaiming, ‘What the f*** is that on my vulva?'”
